WHAT'S NEW

Search form

Search

Education Reporter Shares Insight on Common Core Issues in 2015

It's a new year, but that doesn't mean the latest debates in education will be put to rest. This spring, thousands of students will be tested using the Common Core standards, and how they perform will be a popular topic of discussion around the country.

Some experts believe that schools will see low scores, according to an article on Vox.com. Education Reporter Libby Nelson said that students will not do well on these tests because "Common Core expects students to read more challenging material, and it asks them harder questions."

"In New York and Kentucky, two states that adopted Common Core tests early, the percentage of students considered proficient in reading and math plummeted," she said. "In New York, about two-thirds of students were proficient on both on pre-Common Core tests; after the new tests were introduced, fewer than one-third were considered proficient."

In Kentucky, Nelson said, the results were similar, "and the same thing is likely to happen nationally."

"Seventeen states worked together on a new standardized test as part of a coalition called Smarter Balanced," she said. "In November, Smarter Balanced predicted that less than half of students will be considered proficient in reading and math this year."

According to Nelson, Education Secretary Arne Duncan "characterized opposition to Common Core in November 2013 as driven by 'white suburban moms' upset that 'their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought,'" she said. "He later apologized. But when he said that, just two states had actually taken Common Core tests and seen scores fall."

"This year, 39 more states will join them. This will change the political calculus around Common Core," said Nelson. "In If parents are personally angry, the new standards could become even more unpopular. In September, about 35 percent of public school parents said they have a negative opinion of the Common Core, and an additional 32 percent had no opinion or hadn't heard of it."